Lucknow, Sep 15 (IANS): The Amangarh Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor will now be developed into a full-fledged tiger reserve, equipped with all infrastructure. It will also be renamed as New Corbett (Amangarh) Tiger Reserve to promote ecotourism.

A decision to this effect was taken in the first meeting of the Dudhwa Tiger Conservation Foundation on Tuesday.

Amangarh Tiger Reserve was originally part of the famed Jim Corbett National Park. After the state of Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Jim Corbett went to the former and Amangarh remained in Uttar Pradesh.

It is home to tigers, elephants and a wide variety of other wild animals.

Minister for environment, forests and climate change Dara Singh Chauhan said the reserve should be developed on the lines of others.

Amangarh is among the three tiger reserves of the state. The other two being Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve.

The 80-kilometre reserve was notified in October 2012. It forms the buffer of Corbett reserve, and tigers moving from Corbett find a home in Amangarh.

The reserve has mainly remained underdeveloped all these years.

The minister also said that the ecotourism season will start from November 1 instead of November 15, in Uttar Pradesh this year.